Dublin woman pleads guilty in military bribe scheme

SACRAMENTO -- A 40-year-old Dublin woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiring to bride a public official in exchange for military contracts, federal officials said.

Lida Amin, who has addresses in both Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Dublin, and her brother Nabil Amin traveled to Budapest last September to discuss bribes with a U.S. Air Force contract administrator, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's office. Authorities did not release information about the contract administrator.

Last August, a federal grand jury charged both Amins with conspiring to bribe a public official in exchange for a military contract to supply medical clothing and linens that were to be shipped to Afghanistan via Travis Air Force Base.

An indictment filed in California earlier this month charges both with conspiracy and three counts of using interstate commerce -- physically transporting goods on Interstate 80 and using email -- to aid in bribery schemes, federal officials said Wednesday.

Between 2007 to 2010, Lida Amin engaged in a related scheme for which she is facing federal charges in Texas. Authorities say she conspired to bribe an Air Force contracting officer serving in Afghanistan for $30,000.

The charges to which Lida Amin pleaded guilty Wednesday ï»¿are linked to a second round of contacts with the same contracting officer, according to federal officials.

Advertisement

Last August, she was arrested in Prague after she traveled there to meet with the contract administrator. She has been extradited to Texas and is scheduled to enter a plea later this month to the charges brought in Texas for the earlier bribery scheme. She will be sentenced in September.

Nabil Amin is scheduled for a status conference in Sacramento on July 9.